great idea. don't know that we need to be doing much building in most places with so many homes on the market....but that aside, it would be good for companies to at least be aware of the option.

Logged

.....The greatest changes occur in their country without their cooperation. They are not even aware of precisely what has taken place. They suspect it; they have heard of the event by chance. More than that, they are unconcerned with the fortunes of their village, the safety of their streets, the fate of their church and its vestry. They think that such things have nothing to do with them, that they belong to a powerful stranger called “the government.” They enjoy these goods as tenants, without a sense of ownership, and never give a thought to how they might be improved.....

As for beekeeping, we are just as bad as any group out there. Here are some things to think about.....

70% of the honey consumed in this country in imported. Wouldn't it be nice to be producing it all here? And while many point fingers at China and foreign imports, the truth is most is used in food processing. So when you hear of people saying things about heated honey and the benefits taken out in foreign honey, it a bogus claim as it is heated just the same in the process of putting it in corn flakes. No honey health benefits there. It's just a high carb sugar. But some would make you think that every bottle of super market honey is this illegally obtained stuff. but truth is, it's mainly used in processed foods where we only fool ourselves by thinking it is there for "healthy" reasons.

Much of the chatter about foreign honey involves the mislabeling it as something other than honey, to avoid taxes. But the bottom line, those upset most, are those collecting the 1 cent tax on the processing of honey. Imports of barrels not marked honey, do not get taxed the same. This is why they blend honey so they call it something else. But as long as the importers pay the tax, nobody in the upper circles has ever cared about any amount of imported honey, which suppresses prices here. And you really think "Honey Standards" will benefit the average beekeeper or the local honey market....you are just fooling yourself. To me it's about control, taxation, profit, and greed.

Then there is the queen programs, that for years ran around various participating states handing out literature with a few recipes provided by the honey board (promoting their site and vendors...big packers and processors), which does not promote made or produced in the U.S. products. Why a state bee association would ever spend thousands of dollars a year paying a queen to run around and not promote local agriculture, has always been something to never even mention for fear of blowback. Heck, here in Pennsylvania, the queen is only allowed to be used for honey promotional events only. Not beekeeping events, only honey promotion. Says so right on her event application. The state association to which I am very active, is not called the Pennsylvania Honey Producers Association. It is the Pennsylvania State Beekeepers Association. Yet we currently spend in excess of 10-15 thousand dollars for one queen to run around and not even promote beekeeping, or local honey. And much of the money is for events to attend where nobody else other than beekeepers attend. Who is she there for? The listed 9 biggest Pennsylvania producers, packers, and members of the honey board love it. But does it really help the local beekeepers or the U.S. honey industry?

I think for many businesses, the system is stacked against them. Policies, taxation, and other barriers are placed, keeping imports of goods high for the sake of those in power or benefitting from them. And it crosses all industries, beekeeping included.

I am a huge supporter of local agriculture, local beekeeping, and local honey. But it seems that everytime I mention it, someone comes back with comments about how we are a global community, and such ideas are far fetched and way past their times. And that is the problem. When something as basic as the bee industry is already sold out to foreign markets.

Here is a picture of a pack of tomato's my wife brought home last week. Tomatoes produced in Canada. I'm not against Canadians. But come on. I live in the middle of agriculture central here in Pennsylvania, and we are importing tomatoes from Canada. What a joke! They can grow them up north, ship them, and sell them here,......and we cant?

I see the American worker being sold out. And the masses of many industries, like the bee industry, all being controlled by a few, while the masses walk slowly to their death like sheep going to slaughter. And if you ask the sheep, they are ignorant of the details of where they are going, are too trustworthy of those leading them, or feel that any effort to turn around is just a waste of effort. So sad!

I've been forced to used cheaply made chinese nails and screws and they are no bargain. the self-drilling screws i used on one job, about one third did not sit on the bit properly so they couldn't spin true and would not drill into the metal. of the remaining two-thirds of the box at least half ( probably more) the tips were incapable of drilling metal so in the end maybe one third of each box is actually usable. what were they really saving ?

Cheap Chinese products as intrenched in our lives that it is difficult to buy "made in USA" products. I wish more companies and retailers would highlight USA made products. I bought a replacement door hinge for my 96 Ford truck and to my surprise it was made in China!

Steve

Logged

Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resembalance to the first. - Ronald Reagan

I got this same e-mail video from some of my contractor customers.Building the house from all made in the USA products really isn't the hard part. I wonder where the car that the reporter used to drive up to the house was made, the camera or you may notice the Toyota pickup parked in front of the house. The two tools they showed being used were a Makita impact driver and a Hitachi framing nailer. I can't think of one framing nailer made in the USA.Now lets see if they can build a house with everything they use to build the house is also made in the USA!Wouldn't it be nice.

Again, another 'thanks (!)' goes to BjornBee for pointing out the observations from the edge, where (too many) most fear to go.

If we want to support our Country and its consumer/business relationship comunity as well as future entrepreneurship (not just those seeking to make profit by shipping jobs overseas so they can then sell us back inferior products at a profit for the favor) then we must start (reinvesting) in our own communities and its people.

Not an easy thing to do anymore, lots of dollars are being made with the rigged system that was created by a powerful too few among us. Admittedly, there was (always is) 'some' trickle down as was exampled during our recent boom years (we must have a "boom time" in order to have a "bust time", but lets not be fooled people, its the bust time where the real money is made and the assets are collected).

In reality the trickle was/is just that, a trickle in comparison to the huge profits being made, even more today while the bust continues and fear (distractions) is kept alive and thriving. Quite frankly despite the rhetoric of a few, these folks don't want off the gravy train (or is it a Merry-go-Round) they created with the money stolen from the rest of us and will fight tooth and nail (our teeth, our nails) to keep things exactly as they are.

Only by focusing on our local communities can we fight this (almost spiritual) egregious takeover by those whose 'only' motive is profit, at any cost as long as the cost is bore by others.

As mentioned by BjornBee, there are many possibilities, if we just reinvest in the "US" part of USA and start 'thinking' that way as much as possible. To resist the "walmartification" of our society is deliberately set up to be difficult, but nothing worth fighting for is ever easy.

This is just ONE of the reasons I'd personally like to see our so-called 'representatives' in DC be mandated into spending at least 90% of their time in the districts they're 'supposed' to be representing, where "we" can keep an eye on them, allowing us folks who 'gave them' the privilege of 'serving' the ability to also look them in the eye from time to time. They could conduct virtual votes and get as much done (hopefully more) and cost less to the tax payers by using technology (the web) to actually do some representing. This would be a two fold positive for all 'people' IMO; as it would also at least diminish 'some' of the importance of outside influence (money peddling) Congress is constantly pressured by. Of course, 'real' campaign finance reform would also have to take place :-\ Minimally we would get to see the kinds of folks our Reps are keeping time with first hand. What a concept.

I mean really, who wouldn't want a return to the the old practice of personal contact with a local business, to have any inquiries made answered and/or returned by someone you might actually run into some day. Maybe even tommorrow :) SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS EFFORTS BY SUPPORTING (demanding) LOCAL BUSINESS

Made in America - the obvious can fool you.Back in the early days of NAFTA, when I had a job (UAW - surprise it wasn't automotive) that payed a good wage. The president of our local bought a brand new Ford pickup (made in Canada). A member of the maintenance department bought a brand new Dodge pickup (made in Mexico). A different member of the click, bought a brand new Toyota pickup (Made in the USA). Yes - the Ford was union (UAW) made. - the Dddge was assembled in Mexico, with a lot of USA parts - the Toyota was assembled in The USA , with a lot of foreign parts (General Motors has parts plants in Mexico.)

Whats so great about Union Made in Canada; there wages are on about the same level as the UAW wages here. Remember the American dream: Having a job that pays enough to have lots of toys, send your kids to college, live comfortably and not have to kiss someones backside to get there. Mexico - Non Union - Wages (six years ago) less than $3.00 (American) per hour, no health care, no retirement,(but all of the lib balm you can carry!), they aren't coming north for the balmy weather!

Remember the American dream: Having a job that pays enough to have lots of toys, send your kids to college, live comfortably and not have to kiss someones backside to get there.

funny....that's not the dream that my family came here for. maybe the problem is with the dreamers?

Logged

.....The greatest changes occur in their country without their cooperation. They are not even aware of precisely what has taken place. They suspect it; they have heard of the event by chance. More than that, they are unconcerned with the fortunes of their village, the safety of their streets, the fate of their church and its vestry. They think that such things have nothing to do with them, that they belong to a powerful stranger called “the government.” They enjoy these goods as tenants, without a sense of ownership, and never give a thought to how they might be improved.....

i was brought up in a home of immigrants. yours is not the dream i was taught. my great grandmother came here as a teen, with her sister. they had one suitcase each and no job waiting. their dream was to have freedom from the religious and government persecution at home and the abject poverty with no opportunity for better. some of my earliest memories are of her telling stories of "the old country". the stories always ended with "...but in this country you can be anything you want to be!".

money is nice, but not the most important thing. my dream about money is just to be able to keep what i earn and not have the government take it.

i did not pay for my kids to go to college. they have paid their own way. because they have earned it, they have appreciated it and used it. they could not afford to be eternal students with no direction.

"living comfortably" is a relative term. my son was laughing when he came home for Thanksgiving because i'd put a heater in his room. he said one of his earliest memories was of how freezing cold his bedroom was because there was no heat up there. we couldn't afford to heat the whole house so we only heated the common area.

even though we have achieved your version of the American dream, that was not the ultimate goal. it was the by product of 3 generations of hard work, doing without, and less government than we have now. when i look back at what my family did to survive in this country, i realize they could not do it now. why? because everything they did to survive now takes a permit, license, or degree. those times when they were hungry and cold? they were motivated to go out and earn. now? might they be motivated to go out and fill out a form for government assistance?

the problem is that to many have your dream and not enough have my great grandmothers dream. her dream was what this country was built on. your dream is one of stuff and entitlement.

Logged

.....The greatest changes occur in their country without their cooperation. They are not even aware of precisely what has taken place. They suspect it; they have heard of the event by chance. More than that, they are unconcerned with the fortunes of their village, the safety of their streets, the fate of their church and its vestry. They think that such things have nothing to do with them, that they belong to a powerful stranger called “the government.” They enjoy these goods as tenants, without a sense of ownership, and never give a thought to how they might be improved.....

Kathyp - With all due respect - Not only are we 'not on the same page', I don't think we are in the same book! :soapbox:NOWHERE did I day I was entitled to anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think, I am far enough off topic; so GOODBYE.

Whats so great about Union Made in Canada; there wages are on about the same level as the UAW wages here. Remember the American dream: Having a job that pays enough to have lots of toys, send your kids to college, live comfortably and not have to kiss someones backside to get there. Mexico - Non Union - Wages (six years ago) less than $3.00 (American) per hour, no health care, no retirement,(but all of the lib balm you can carry!), they aren't coming north for the balmy weather!

What about the non-union auto jobs in the US (ie. Toyota, Subaru, Mercedes, and BMW). I hear the hourly rate is lower, but there are pretty good incentives like monthly bonuses for not being late, good health benefits and matching 401Ks. Can't be too bad otherwise they would be unionizing. Thank goodness for right to work states.

Quote

NOWHERE did I day I was entitled to anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think it was implied when you where on your UAW soapbox. :soapbox:

Sure unions played an important part at one time, but that time has passed. There is a big difference between safe workplace and fair wages and where the unions are today. There is no incentive to work hard when advancements are based solely on seniority. Why step up and work hard when the lazy bum that hired on the day before you gets first dibs? I won't even get into the "job bank" employees, but how can that help a company succeed.

Yes you can call me biased. One of my college buddies dad was a 3rd shift manager at a GM plant. A good night for him was when he could keep all the employees awake.

Don't get me wrong, I do believe there are good autoworkers, the sad part is they are getting screwed by the unions to protect the slugs.

Logged

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison

Amen Rob... I'm in a "right to work state" and the BMW plant in Greenville is doing great and the people I have talked to working there love it... also you heard the NLRB was put down by the courts on their assanine accusations against Boeing for moving their plant to Charleston... I won't even go down the road of what I think about Labor Unions.... kinda the same thing as Government Intelligence... they are a dichotomy... :) for those in those two areas dichotomy = mutually exclusive

Thank you, ROBO for making my point "Can't be too bad otherwise they would be unionizing."

A person needs First Hand Knowledge about working conditions in both, to fully evaluate either. I can fill books with experiences and observations , over 28 years worth. Stop by with beer and a large note pad, I have lots of true stories that will amaze you!

Nothing and nobody is perfect; I have seen instances where the union dropped the ball, I have seen 'slugs' protected and innocent people punished.